Behind the scenes with Kurt Russell filming 'Touchback' in Coopersville

COOPERSVILLE -- The quarterback muffs the snap, and is subsequently smeared by the defense. Kurt Russell gets in the prostrate player's face and chews him out.

"If you keep moving like a pregnant goat, you're not going to last three downs!" he bellows.

Coach Kurt is hot, in both temperament and temperature. The 90-degree heat bakes the Coopersville High School football field Tuesday, as cameras roll on the movie "Touchback." But once director Don Handfield yells "Cut!" Russell jokes with his fellow actors, many of them perspiring heavily in full football pads, and an assistant brings him a bottle of water and a handheld fan.

To put it succinctly: He's cool. Especially when his "players" continue to call him "coach" off-camera.

"That's a habit that falls into place after a while," a smiling Russell said Tuesday, during a break in filming.

"I'm having a good time here," he added. "This shoot worked out great for me. I stayed on a lake in Ontario in July and August, so it's a short flight here. I'm only here for eight days (of filming), it's the right amount of money, and it's a good story; it's sweet, and has something to say."

Producer Lisa Kearns spotted Russell in a candid moment Monday, when he approached a local family watching the movie being filmed.

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"He offered to trade a picture with them for a piece of their pizza," she said, laughing. "But he's also very focused while he's working. He's schooling all of us."

Although Russell brings "Touchback" considerable star power -- his career highlights include "Escape to New York," "The Thing," "Big Trouble in Little China," "Tombstone" and "Miracle," where he played 1980 Olympic hockey coach Herb Brooks -- the movie isn't the coach's story. Brian Presley plays the aforementioned quarterback, Scott Murphy, who, as an adult, attempts suicide, and wakes up in the past to re-live a fateful time in his life -- the state championship game, and an injury that ends his potential sports career.

The subject matter touches home with Russell, who played professional baseball for three-and-a-half years before he was injured and permanently sidelined.

"We talked a little bit about that," the actor said. "Right now, my son's experiencing the same thing. He plays pro hockey, and he's dealing with some tough injuries that could take him out of the game. But that's part of sports.

"My character is more of a father figure than a coach," Russell added. "He's someone who understands."

Presley's company, the Los Angeles-based Freedom Films, which he formed with Kearns, is spearheading the production. It'll shoot in Coopersville and Grand Rapids until Aug. 27. The movie's key sequence, the championship game, will be filmed Friday night at the Coopersville stadium with 2,000 extras. Local football players were cast last week for gridiron roles, and filming will coincide with Del Shannon Auto Show's 20th Anniversary Celebration on Friday.

Marc Blucas ("Knight and Day," TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), Christine Lahti (who starred with Russell in "Swing Shift) and Melanie Lynskey ("The Informant," "Up in the Air") also have roles in the film. Former Detroit Lion and Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders will make a cameo appearance as a coach for the opposing team.

After several hours in the heat, in full pads, getting sacked by beefy linemen over and over and over again, Presley is bleary eyed and exhausted.

"I'm literally a little dazed right now. We've been going full speed out there," he said, enjoying an air-conditioned trailer during his lunch break.

Presley has been working on the film for more than three years with writer/director Handfield. He set up shop in West Michigan a month ago, preparing for the role, working out with the Coopersville High team.

"We threw the ball around, and I got in a little Brett Favre action," he said. "I really hope the movie's a modern-day 'Hoosiers.' Kurt is taking it to another level."

The production settled on Coopersville after an extensive search of the area, including Lowell and Grand Haven. Some scenes were shot in Ohio -- where the story is set -- last year, and producers needed to match the topography with the existing footage, and find the right-sized town and school.

"Wherever there was a farm, we looked," he said. "Coopersville ended up having it all. We wanted an authentic, worn and beautiful look and feel for the whole movie, and we're capturing that here."

Russell said he hopes to visit Lake Michigan this weekend. "Touchback" is his first acting role since 2007's "Death Proof," the Quentin Tarantino-directed half of "Grindhouse."

"I haven't been working. I've been enjoying life," the actor said, laughing. "I've spent the last three years enjoying myself. But I'm ready to get back into filming -- I have a couple of projects getting started. One of them is about Waco, which we're being forced to film outside the United States. When the U.S. government is holding us back, it's got to be interesting!"